Home | Forums | Article Search | Subscribe & Shop | Contact Us | Log Out Bigfoot Networks Killer K1 Email This Print This View My Personal Library Heavy Gear May 2007 • Vol.7 Issue 5 Page(s) 29 in print issue Add To My Personal Library Bigfoot Networks Killer K1 Killer K1 $179.99 Bigfoot Networks www.bigfootnetworks.com CPU Rating: 3.5 Specs: Speeds: 10/100/1000Mbps; NPU clock speed: 333MHz; Memory: 64MB DDR; Interface: 32-bit PCI; Connectors: RJ-45, USB2.0 Bigfoot Networks recently launched a more affordable version of its Killer NIC, the Killer K1. When the original Killer (a.k.a. M1) was released, it was praised for delivering higher in-game frame rates and somewhat lower latency, thanks to its custom networking stack and NPU (network processing unit). The NPU took over duties normally reserved for the CPU, freeing up the CPU to handle other tasks while gaming. There was concern, however, that the M1’s approximate $250 price was a bit too much for gamers to swallow when virtually all enthusiast-class motherboards already included at least one Gigabit NICs. To address pricing concerns, Bigfoot decided to revamp the Killer with a focus on only the features important to gamers (GameFirst, UltimatePing, MaxFPS, and PingThrottle). The Killer K1 differs from the original in that its NPU clock speed is only 333MHz (the M1 boasts a 400MHz NPU); it also lacks the “Killer K” heatsink, and support for FNApps is disabled by default. The USB port is still present, and you can upgrade the K1’s firmware to enable the FNApps. (The cost of the upgrade wasn’t yet established at press time.) The K1 does offer all of the gaming-related features of the original, however, and has the same 64MB of onboard memory. The K1 performed similarly to the M1, but because of the nature of testing with online gaming, it was impossible to perform a truly direct comparison. Using an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800-powered test rig, frame rates in F.E.A.R. and CS: Source increased by 5.1fps and 4.9fps, respectively. But World of Warcraft showed the largest gain—about 8fps. But the K1 really excelled in WoW when numerous characters appeared on-screen simultaneously. It significantly reduced the stuttering that sometimes occurs in WoW in such situations. At about $180, the K1 offers similar performance and is roughly $70 cheaper than the original Killer, so we can’t help but like it. But until the K1 is available for even less, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Bigfoot. by Marco Chiappetta  User Reviews Be the first to write a review of this product Want more information about a topic you found of interest while reading this article? Type a word or phrase that identifies the topic and click "Search" to find relevant articles from within our editorial database. Enter A Subject (key words or a phrase): ALL Words (‘digital’ AND ‘photography’) ANY Words (‘digital’ OR ‘photography’) Exact Match ('digital photography'- all words MUST appear together) Home      Copyright & Legal Information      Privacy Policy      Site Map      Contact Us Copyright © 2010 Sandhills Publishing Company U.S.A. All rights reserved.